Thanks to Journal News – New York Woman & Family Believes They Are Being Stalked Again By Predator (Video)

Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant told reporters this afternoon that thanks to the Journal Newsreleasing names and addresses of legal gun permit holders in two New York counties, at least one family belives they are being stalked again by a predator.

“This one narcotics officer from Westchester County just retired. Dedicated his whole career to protecting the citizens of Westchester County and they can’t protect him now. He said I’ve never been so fearful for the safety of my family… This one lady whose been stalked for years in West Chester County. She finally found peace, two years without the stalker contacting her. Two days after that paper released her information she gets hangups all night long. She lives in fear, her and her three daughters.”

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I suspect now that one person has spoken out, we’ll hear about more of these situations. We’ll hear from those who had to vacate their homes right before Christmas because the paper informed their stalker, abusive spouse, etc., their new address.

CARMEL, N.Y. — Officials in Putnam County say they will reject a newspaper’s request to release the names and addresses of residents with pistol permits — a move an open government advocate calls illegal.

County Clerk Dennis Sant said officials were meeting Wednesday to discuss legal options.

In December, the Journal News published online maps that allow viewers to see the names and addresses of pistol and revolver permit holders in neighboring Westchester and Rockland counties. The newspaper sought the records under the state Freedom of Information Law after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Critics called the publication an invasion of privacy; some said it could endanger permit holders.

“In Putnam County, I have over 11,000 pistol permit holders, and I refuse to put their lives and their families’ lives in danger,” Sant told The New York Times. “When these laws were conceived, there was no social media, there was no Google maps.”

State Sen. Greg Ball referred to Journal News editors as “elitist eggheads” and called the decision to publish the maps “asinine,” the newspaper reported.

If this article in AmThinker is right, by law, the paper never should have gained access to such a comprehensive list:

Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 400.00 of the penal law

A. 9388 2

1 (II) A REQUEST FOR THE ENTIRE LIST OF LICENSEES, OR FOR ALL LICENSEES IN A GEOGRAPHIC AREA, SHALL BE DENIED, EXCEPT TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCY OR ANY ENTITY ACTING ON BEHALF OF OR PROVIDING SERVICES TO ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM “LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY” SHALL MEAN THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE, ANY NEW YORK STATE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT OF ANY CITY, VILLAGE OR TOWN WITHIN NEW YORK STATE, THE POLICE FORCE OF ANY NEW YORK STATE AUTHORITY OR AGENCY, THE STATE POLICE FORCE OF ANY OTHER STATE, ANY FEDERAL LAW

“Open Government” and “public information” should never be allowed to trump an individual citizen’s right to privacy, particularly in matters concerning otherwise legal activity.

Would these newspapers put together a list of every single individual ticketed for drunk driving in a state, county by county, and then release that en masse in print? Of course they would not do that. And yet, being arrested for drunk driving is in fact public information – and drunk driving causes FAR more deaths every year than legally owned guns do.

donh

SHOW US OBAMA’S PAPERS AND LONG FORM BIRTH CERTIFICATE !

Finncrisp

Collision of freedom of information and public safety. Public safety should trump. Look at what TSA does to us in the name of public safety.

#29. I agree. These parasite liberals think they can abuse their power of the press and pay no price. Well I beg to differ. Let their advertisers know they will no longer support the papers advertisers…seee how they like those apples.

No advertisers, no buyers of paper equals no jobs for these idiots

Mad Hatter

I noticed that the Media Matter trolls never comment on stories like these.

What a shocker.

Razorgirl

I know the names and addresses of the JN higher ups have been published but can anyone get their Social Security numbers published so the identity theft folks can have at ’em? Identity theft – the gift that keeps on giving. It would be poetic justice.

Tcircle

Two links to the House and Senate bills which contain the language cited above. Senate bill provides reason for amending the law existing at the time.